The correspondence between heaviness of alcohol consumption and level of risk for dependence in the current study is consistent with the dose-response effect described in the literature (Li et al., 2007; O’Neill et al., 2001; Saha et al., 2007). The overall trend did not vary by sex but the fact that nearly 60% of the heaviest drinking females compared with only 40% of the heaviest drinking males met AD criteria suggests some intriguing potential gender-related differences, for instance, that deviation from the norms for drinking behaviors confers greater risk for AD in women than in men. The parallel analysis with cannabis use and dependence symptomatology revealed a similar association that was consistent across sexes, with negligible rates of dependence for the lowest 60% and dramatic increases in prevalence for the next two levels of frequency of use. Although previous studies have measured heaviness of cannabis use in terms of number of days used per week or month, whereas we queried total number of times used, our results mirror the patterns reported in the literature: substantial elevations in risk occur as
